The Abuse Crises in the Irish Christian Churches

Abstract

Abstract This chapter describes the range of Christian institutions and forms of abuse including clerical sexual abuse, reformatory and industrial schools, Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby Homes, and forced adoptions. It evaluates the role of the Irish churches, with a focus on the Catholic Church in Ireland, the Irish state, and the Northern Ireland Assembly in three practices of dealing with the past: investigations, redress/compensation, and apologies. The histories of dominance, social control, and abuse in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Ireland and the nature of the churches’ response to these crises are linked by their desire to maintain theological and moral authority. This desire greatly undermines the churches’ willingness and ability to respond to the abusive elements of their past in a manner that prioritizes the needs and rights of victim-survivors of abuse.